A Christmas Tale
by Lady Dudley
Summary: A Jardine Family Christmas.
1. Christmas Eve

**A/N: What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than to write a Christmas fanfic? ;) This is another kiddie one, hope you enjoy! :) The title's a bit dodgy, but I couldn't think of anything else!! The song lyrics in both chapters are from Peter Combe's song "Christmas Eve."**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**_A Christmas Tale_**

~*~

_Christmas Eve and time for bed  
__Don't want to be a sleepy head  
__I really should go, really should go  
__I really should go to bed_

~*~

_**Christmas Eve,  
**__**Evening**_

Nerys sat at the window, staring out into the darkness. "He _is_ going to come home, isn't he?" she demanded, not taking her gaze from the window.

Jackie looked up from where she was decorating the Christmas tree with Jimmy, "Yes, Nerys, Daddy promised he'd be home in time for Christmas."

Nerys looked back her mother, a trifle doubtfully, "Why don't you come and help us finish decorating the Christmas tree?" Jackie suggested, "You can hang up the special baubles," Jackie coaxed, when Nerys looked like she wasn't going to budge.

Nerys left her place by the window, feeling very important. This would be the first time that she had been allowed to hang up the special baubles; there were three in all and each had the name of one of the children – James, Nerys and Katrina – written on it along with the year they were born.

"Can we stay up until Daddy comes home?" Jimmy asked as he hung up a penguin shaped ornament.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Jackie told him, "Daddy might be very late tonight, he's still working on a case." Jackie didn't miss Nerys' crestfallen expression, "It will be all right, baby," Jackie soothed, "he promised he'd be home tomorrow," she gave her daughter a conspiratorial smile, "with a surprise."

Immediately Nerys perked up, "What kind of a surprise?" Nerys and Jimmy demanded in unison.

Jackie laughed, "If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" she asked. Both children grudgingly agreed and continued to put the decorations up on the Christmas tree in silence.

"Will Santa know about Katie?" Nerys asked, breaking the silence as she looked over to where the baby, Katrina, was playing with some leftover tinsel.

"Of course he does," Jimmy told her in his best older brother voice, "he's _Santa_," he added importantly.

Nerys looked up at Jackie, "Is that true, Mummy?"

Jackie smiled down at her, "Of course it's true, baby, Santa won't forget about Katie, don't worry."

Nerys nodded, satisfied, as she went back to finishing decorating the tree. "Do you think Daddy will like the decorations?" she asked. Jackie paused and took a moment to look around the room; green and red paper chains were suspended along the walls along with some paper angels and snowflakes. The tree itself also sported some homemade decorations, "I'm sure he'll love it," Jackie assured her, confident that Michael would love anything that meant he didn't have to decorate himself. The fact that most of the decorations were made by the children would be an added bonus.

Jackie looked across at the clock, "Now I think I have let you all stay up for long enough, it's bedtime," she said firmly, getting to her feet. Nerys and Jimmy both pouted and looked liable to whine, Jackie gave them both a stern look as she picked up Katrina, who had stopped playing with the tinsel and almost fallen asleep. "If you don't go to bed soon, Santa won't come at all," she told them. Both children looked horrified at the prospect and dutifully made their way upstairs.

"I'll be in to say goodnight soon," Jackie told them, "I'll just put Katie to bed and then I'll come in."

After settling Katrina, who took much less time than normal, Jackie came in to check on the other children.

Jimmy was all ready nodding off, his stuffed monkey under his arm, "Daddy will be here tomorrow won't he?" he asked sleepily.

Jackie perched on the edge of his bed, "Of course he will be, sweetheart," she told him; smoothing back his hair she gave him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Sleep well," she whispered and she left the room, turning off the light and pulling the door partially closed behind her.

Nerys, on the other hand, was wide awake when Jackie entered the room. "You are supposed to be going to sleep," Jackie chided her gently, coming to sit on the edge of her bed.

"George wants to wait until Daddy gets home," Nerys informed her, holding up her teddy bear.

"Now, George," Jackie said patiently, addressing the bear, "Daddy's not going to be home until very late. You and Nerys both need to get some sleep before Christmas."

"He still wants to stay up," Nerys said flatly. Jackie stifled a sigh.

"I'm very sorry, but it's time for sweet dreams and teddy bears," Jackie told her, using the phrase Michael always used to send the children to bed.

Nerys sniffled a little, "But I want Daddy."

"Daddy will be here tomorrow, sweetie, I promise, but you need to get some sleep now," Jackie told her gently.

Nerys sighed and cuddled George closer to her, "Will you read me a story Mummy?" she asked, "George would like to hear _Little Bear's Trousers_ again, that's his favourite."

Deciding that it would be better to distract Nerys and it _was_ Christmas Eve; Jackie gave in with a smile and went to retrieve the book.

_**Later that evening**_

Michael silently shut the front door behind him and crept up the stairs. After a popping his head around the door to check on each of the children, he crept into the master bedroom.

The light was still on and Jackie was asleep, a book lying open on her lap. Michael winced as the door clicked behind him, making Jackie stir.

"You're back," Jackie said with a sleepy smile as she sat up and closed the book.

"The interview took much longer than I had expected," Michael said, sinking onto the end of the bed as he removed his shoes. "I just want to go to bed," he said, crawling up the bed to his pillow and flopping, face down, on the bed.

"Well don't get to comfortable," Jackie warned him, "Nerys has been coming in every couple of hours to get a drink or to make sure we left something out for the reindeer or just to double check that Santa won't forget about Katie." She paused and looked at Michael, who had shifted slightly so he could look up at her, "I think she was really checking to see if you were home yet. You were missed," she told him quietly.

Michael rolled over onto his back, "I know, I'm sorry, if I could have come home earlier I would have."

"Liar," Jackie teased, "you were hoping we'd finish decorating without you."

Michael grinned sleepily, "Well, you've got me there," he admitted.

"Did you sort out the surprise?" Jackie asked, as Michael heaved himself off the bed to get changed for bed.

"Yep," he said, "it's all taken care of, I just need to go and pick it up in the morning," he told her.

"Just make sure you say hello before you leave," she told him. Michael nodded sleepily before disappearing into the en suite.


	2. Christmas Day

~*~

_I wake up very early in the morning (morning)  
__When everyone is still asleep and snoring (snoring)  
__I tip-toe back to bed – you know what they have said  
_"_Don't wake us up to early in the morning" (morning)_

~*~

_**Christmas Day,  
**__**Early Morning**_

"Jimmy," Nerys whispered, giving her older brother a poke. Jimmy mumbled something and rolled over, clutching his monkey tighter, "Jimmy," Nerys tried again, louder this time. Jimmy continued to sleep soundly. Frustrated by his lack of response, Nerys whipped the pillow out from under his head.

Jimmy woke with a start, "Wha-? Nerys!" he cried, indignant, but Nerys silenced him with a finger to her lips.

"Let's go see if Santa came," she said, excited. Jimmy rubbed his eyes sleepily as he sat up, Nerys scampered to the door and Jimmy got out of bed to follow her. He deliberated by the side of his bed for a few moments before he picked up his monkey and joined Nerys at the door.

"We need to be quiet," Nerys insisted, "or we'll get into trouble for waking Katie," she added as they made their way to the stairs. Nerys stopped outside the door to the master bedroom, she made to open the door, but Jimmy stopped her.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I want to see if Daddy's home," she told him, shaking off his hold and opening the door. As quietly as they could, both children peeped around the door.

Nerys forgot all about being quiet and let out a squeal when she saw that Michael was home, Jimmy clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her roughly back into the hallway. "Shh!" he said, closing the door quietly, "you'll wake them up!"

Nerys pulled a face at him before she went to the stairs and made her way down them, trying to avoid all the places where the stairs squeaked as she did so. Jimmy followed her, but he wasn't as careful and Nerys scrunched up her face a little every time he made the stairs squeak.

Both Nerys and Jimmy were pleased to see both of their stockings filled, along with other presents under the tree. Nerys was especially pleased to see that the reindeer had eaten their carrots and Santa had drunk his milk and eaten his cookies.

"Come on," she said, tugging on Jimmy's arm, "we should go back to bed before we get caught." Jimmy nodded, reluctantly putting down a present with his name on it.

_**Later that morning**_

"I think that's everything," Jackie said as she cleaned up the last of the wrapping paper.

Not that anyone was really listening to her. Jimmy was busy trying to set up a toy train set, Nerys was introducing George to her new doll and Katrina was more interested in the brightly coloured box than the toy blocks it contained.

Suddenly Nerys looked up, "Where did Daddy go?" she asked.

Jackie smiled secretively, "That's a secret."

Nerys looked panicked, "He is coming back isn't he? Daddy will come home?"

Jackie chuckled a little, "Of course he's coming home, sweetie, don't worry."

Nerys looked doubtful until she heard the front door open and close; "Daddy!" she cried and made to greet him at the door, but Jackie stopped her.

"Just wait here, baby, Daddy has a surprise for you both," she glanced across at Jimmy, "Jimmy, Daddy has a surprise for you, can you come over here please?" Jimmy looked up and put the piece he was struggling with down and came to sit near Nerys.

Jackie smothered a grin as she picked up Katie and caught sight of Michael attempting to contain the surprise.

"Is everyone ready?" Michael called from the hallway. Jackie looked at the children, Nerys was bobbing up and down in anticipation and Jimmy looked almost as bad.

"Everyone's ready!" Jackie called back.

"Here comes the surprise!" Michael called back, there was a noise and a scuffling sound before a plump black Labrador puppy came barrelling into the room.

"A puppy!" Nerys cried out in delight as it came up and licked her face. Jimmy's smile looked liable to break his face in half as he patted the excited puppy.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Nerys asked as Michael came into the room.

"A boy," Michael told her.

"Good," Jimmy responded absently before Nerys could reply. Michael fought back a laugh as he asked what they were going to call the puppy.

"Nelson," Nerys replied promptly, Jimmy nodded in agreement and they looked up at their parents. Jackie elbowed Michael in the ribs when she caught his amused expression, "I think that's a lovely name," Jackie told them with a pointed glance at Michael.

"Very nice," Michael managed, trying valiantly not to laugh.

Both children grinned and turned their attention back to the puppy.

_**That afternoon**_

"Well I think 'Nelson' was a hit," Michael said with a grin coming back down the stairs after putting Katrina down for her nap.

"What is so funny about his name?" Jackie asked as Michael joined her at the window where they could see Nerys and Jimmy playing with the puppy.

"Nothing. But...she's three and she comes up with 'Nelson'? You don't think it's a tiny bit amusing?" he asked as he slipped his arms around her waist.

Jackie shrugged as she leaned back into his embrace, "I think it's a nice name."

"I never said it wasn't a nice name, I just thought it was an interesting choice for a three year old, that's all," Michael defended himself.

Jackie chuckled softly. Michael kissed her shoulder, "Merry Christmas, Jackie," he said softly in her ear.

She smiled shifted slightly so she could kiss his cheek, "Merry Christmas."

----

**A/N: Yeah, so I decided they needed a dog and I thought it would make a nice Christmas present :)**


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